The Year of Faith is in full swing, a year during which the Holy Father is encouraging the faithful to undertake an exploration of the Council documents with renewed vigor. Bravo! The simple fact that far too few among us have actually taken the time to read the conciliar texts is one of the primary […]
Earlier this year I went to the WPXI television studio in Pittsburgh to tape an interview. The technician who escorted me inquired, “What are you here to discuss today?” When I replied, “heaven,” he asked, “Have they found it?” As he correctly reasoned, the discovery of heaven would indeed be newsworthy. Thoughts of heaven are […]
As part of our catechesis for this Year of Faith, it is fitting, during these last days of Advent, to consider the faith of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ. At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel greets Mary with an invitation to rejoice because the Lord is with her. This joy is that of the […]
During Advent, Christians gather around the Manger, as yet empty. “Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay,” the Church’s liturgy prays. Just as the Baby in the Manger represents for us the greatest Gift God brings, so the emptiness of the Manger represents the deep needs of the human heart — needs that not only we […]
There is a well-known passage in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (book I, chapter 2) that runs thus: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and […]
Dutifully, Catholics go on the hunt each year for the highly coveted, purple and pink candle ensemble vital to any serious Advent Wreath. I’m eighty-seven percent sure that I buy a replacement set after Christmas in anticipation of the following liturgical season, proudly lauding myself for thinking ahead, taking advantage of the sale price, and […]
If you mention the word “celibacy” on your local street corner today, you will probably not get a favorable response. It will more than likely spark a conversation about recent tabloid news involving sex scandals, homosexuality, or other negative publicity. Or, it may conjure up images of monasteries, cobblestone streets, and oil filled lamps. And […]
I recently saw a Jon Stewart monologue that really got me thinking. Stewart was making fun of Fox News’ “War on Christmas.” Stewart asks how could there possibly be a “War on Christmas” when Christmas, as a holiday, has become so bloated that this year it finally took over Thanksgiving. In 2012, before the turkey […]
Putin Calls for Three-Child Family to Become the Norm Elizabeth Crnkovich also contributed to this article. What do you do when your country is dying, one coffin at a time? Well, if you are Russian President Vladimir Putin, you call upon Russian couples to be fruitful and multiply, and have at least three children. It […]
We belong to a faith that over the course of the past two millennia hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have given their lives for. These martyrs believed that their faith was worth dying for yet this generation of Catholics seems to have abandoned their faith. With the exceptions of Christmas, Ash Wednesday, […]
It is reported that Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is a Catholic. Further, it has been said that he is a conservative Republican. But recently we learned that Jindal is actually a counterfeit Catholic with progressive leanings on the subjects of contraception, women’s rights, and common sense. In fact, in his latest Wall Street Journal op-ed, […]
Americans’ affirmation of the “right to choose” is a feature of our national identity. No matter where you go or what you’re doing, chances are you are confronted with a plethora of choices. Go to the supermarket and you are confronted with a dizzying array of options for each and every product you wish to […]
Love is a Person. St. Augustine profoundly realized this when he spoke of the restlessness of the human heart until it rests in God. In reading John Donne’s poetry over the past few months, one witnesses Donne’s search for love, a journey full of distortion and dead-ends. In some writings, he almost treats the concept […]
What is the difference between a child born in the Twenty-first century and one born in 300 BC? Nothing, since human nature is unchanging, but everything, if modern child-rearing techniques are applied. Human nature never changes, be it during ancient times or in the modern world. Thus, Aristotle’s philosophy was as brilliant in 350 BC […]
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. (John 1:12,13) All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down […]
If you have access to the Internet, you likely have read a viral blog post by single mother of four Liza Long titled “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother.” The piece has had millions of hits on the various sites on which it has been published. If you haven’t seen it, check your email. Someone has […]
In the wake of the horrifying deaths of 20 young school children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at Newtown, Connecticut, there is one question that we must ask. We must ask it while the horror is fresh and we must ask it when the process of grief has eased our shock and pain […]
Within hours of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School pro-lifers began assigning causal rootedness in the culture of abortion. I’ve heard several people, some of whom are pro-lifers, object to making a connection. So the question needs to be addressed. Given the highly charged political and moral dimensions of the abortion debate, those most […]
A few years ago, I was delighted when friends gifted me with a CD of sacred music by a religious community that I’d never heard of before, The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. It was their first album, privately recorded, and self-released, yet I was quickly taken by these gentle, prayerful voices and soothing […]
The 2012 national election is over, and the winners are those who support the legalized killing of innocent human beings, the destruction of traditional marriage, and the gross limitation of religious freedom. The victors include atheists and believers, and sadly among those believers are many who claim to be Catholics. It is not even possible […]
An interview with author Rod Bennett A fascinating new novel is out in paperback today which ought to be of great interest to Catholic Lane readers with a taste for fantasy or science fiction. It’s called The Christus Experiment and it’s the first major work of fiction by Rod Bennett, author of the popular Catholic apologetic Four […]
A UN committee of legal experts reprimanded the Russian Federation last month for allowing the Ryazan province of Russia to enforce a law that bans the promotion of homosexuality among minors as part of a national effort to protect children from early sexualization, and related adverse health consequences. In 2009 Irina Fedotova, a lesbian activist, […]
The cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints gave the “go ahead” on December 10 for Paul VI’s beatification, Italian Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli reported on his Vatican Insider website on December 14. “The late Pope’s Positio – the collection of documents used in the process by which a person is […]
During this season of Miracles we often hear and read about the “War on Christmas” and efforts to remove and erase all references of Jesus Christ from our culture. This determination seems to increase each year, and in the near future children may lose all knowledge of the True Meaning of Christmas. As a professional […]
